The ‘Daycare’ Phillies aren’t kids anymore. Can they prove they should be part of the next core?

CLEARWATER, Fla. — “Daycare” is a bit of a misnomer.

After all, the nickname Phillies fans affectionately use to describe Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh actually refers to a trio of 27- and 28-year-olds who are pretty far from needing supervision. They all have at least three years of major league service time. And Stott, who has the least, is a father himself.

But their identity as “the young guys” on the Phillies persists, if only because the team’s veteran core is so well established. Compared to the players on the opening day roster who have spent a decade-plus in the majors, three years seems like a drop in the bucket.

» READ MORE: Build your ideal Phillies lineup ahead of opening day — and find out what our writers think

“I think a lot of people are like, ‘They’re not in the Daycare, they’re 28,’ and things like that,” Stott said on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball show. “So we just think it’s funny, and we joke. … I think it’s always going to stick around and just be a little joke that the veterans have for us.”

This season figures to be the most important year yet for all three of them. Bohm spent the offseason living on the trade block, but no move materialized. He should have plenty of motivation to prove that the Phillies made the right call. Meanwhile, Marsh and Stott have the opportunity to put away any doubt that they can hit left-handed pitching.

If the Phillies are to summit the World Series mountain at the end of November, the trio will need to be a key part of that. So is it time for the Daycare to graduate?

The nickname itself predated Marsh’s arrival in Philadelphia. Originally, “the Daycare” referred to the young core of Stott, Bohm, Mickey Moniak, Matt Vierling, and Nick Maton, two months before Marsh was brought in from the Angels for Logan O’Hoppe. But he fit right in after the trade.

“It was less about our actual age than it was our service time,” said Stott, 27. “So we were always on the rookie duties, carrying speakers and things like that, what we’re supposed to do.”

Some of those “rookie duties” have persisted well past their rookie years. Bryce Harper put on an away jersey only one time this spring, making a six-mile trip to Dunedin, Fla., for his Grapefruit League debut. Games in the farther reaches of Florida typically are reserved for players with the least seniority. Bohm, Stott, and Marsh ended up on the road plenty.

» READ MORE: 25 things to know about the Phillies in 2025: From the new guys to World Series odds, and more

“Especially with the team we have, it’s such a veteran-led team, which I love. As default, Stott, Bohm, and I are still the young bucks,” Marsh said. “I think it’s a great little thing we got going on.”

Marsh, 27, continues to embrace the Daycare identity. A big part of that includes the antics, as the trio is known for interrupting a teammate’s postgame interview by sneaking up on them with a cup of water.

“I’m excited to pour some water on some guys,” Marsh said.

He thinks there can be a balance between bringing some levity in the right moment and being focused on his job when it matters.

“I try to bring that … youth isn’t the right word. But those veteran guys, they’ve been doing it for so long,” Marsh said. “They’re so routine-oriented, and they’ve been doing it for 10-plus years. I’m just here to kind of ease the tension and be the best nine-hole I can be. Yeah, I think some antics are good and some are bad. There’s a time and a place for fun, and you just got to pick the right time.”

The job comes first, though. And the three of them have big ones this season.

» READ MORE: Bryson Stott is healthy, but getting back to being a ‘reaction hitter’ is just as key to a resurgence in 2025

Phillies manager Rob Thomson is tired of talking about whether he thinks Marsh will be able to hit lefties. The debate over whether Marsh is an everyday player in Philadelphia has been ongoing since he arrived, but he hasn’t been given many opportunities to prove it. The outfielder only had 90 plate appearances against lefties in 2024.

Stott and Marsh were on the bench to start Game 3 of last year’s National League Division Series against Mets lefty Sean Manaea. That signaled Thomson’s uncertainty regarding their effectiveness against left-handed pitching at the time of year when it mattered most.

But in a small sample size of the spring, it looks like Marsh has made some strides in that regard after an offseason of work with hitting coach Kevin Long. In 12 plate appearances against left-handers, Marsh hit .444 with a 16.7% strikeout rate. He walked three times. He doubled off Yankees lefty Carlos Rodón and hit two singles off reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.

Stott, on the other hand, has shown he has more in him than the .223 batting average he put up against lefties last season. He had a .282 split in 2023, which was a far better season for him at the plate in every way.

Earlier this spring, Stott offered a potential explanation for that regression: a “messed up” nerve in his right elbow that had bothered him for most of last season. But now that it’s been resolved and Stott is healthy again, his 2023 performance is a blueprint for how he wants to approach the season.

“It felt a lot last year it was 0-1, 0-2 in the blink of an eye,” Stott said. “Rather than in ‘23, I would see a lot of pitches, but it would be in my counts, instead of trying to fight back to get to my counts.”

Bohm, the oldest of the three at 28, also sat out for part of the NLDS last year. His benching in Game 2 was for different reasons, as he had been scuffling at the plate and his frustration was evident. Thomson opted for an injection of “energy” from Edmundo Sosa instead.

Bohm has a tendency to slam his batting helmet on the ground when displeased with a result on the field. Along with the trade chatter this offseason, questions were raised about his maturity. But he kept things in perspective after arriving to camp.

“I’ve been known to do some wrong things at the wrong time,” he said. “I mean, it’s just part of growing up, just being a better player, teammate. …

“I think it’s going to be hard to find a way to care less. So grow up a little bit, I guess. Be smarter.”

» READ MORE: The Phillies bet on three new players with a lot to prove. And the payoffs could be big for all.

The way his 2024 season ended and the discourse that followed might make it easy to forget that Bohm was an All-Star starter at third base in July. He also hit .280, had 97 RBIs for the second consecutive year, and hit 44 doubles.

Marsh and Stott, too, would hit in the top half of the lineup on many other teams in the league. They just happen to play on a team full of stars.

One day, though, some of those veterans may move on. J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, and Ranger Suárez are in contract years, and this could be the last hurrah for the Phillies’ current core.

It could soon be up to the next core — a trio of 27- and 28-year-olds who might need a different nickname by then — to keep the championship window open. This year will go a long way in proving if they’re prepared for that.